The Deviant Universe
For More Info on Individual Members, see here: Characters of the Deviant Universe For More Organizations: see Organizations of the Deviant Universe The "Deviant Universe" ( http://deviantuniverse.deviantart.com/ ) is an interactive storytelling and artist group founded on December 21, 2010 by Mja42x on dA. The environment is a superhero setting where the story is told through collaborative art projects done on a monthly basis. All submissions are color art, and most submitters are hobbyists, though a few are working their way towards hopes of professional work in years to come. Many themes within the setting bear a striking similarity to those of the Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse Comics, and some characters display analogous roles within the setting, but as a rule an effort is made to keep the setting distinct and unique. The term "Deviants," used to refer to superhuman or metahuman heroes and villains, is an homage to the site's hosting at Deviant Art. Most characters written for this setting have what may be termed "Side Stories." Their own personal arcs and developments and participation in events and storylines that are not part of the main DU continuity are all 'generally' considered canon for the DU, as the world is large and the number of storyline opportunities are vast (For example - The Viper's Colosseum story-arc is considered part of its many participants 'canon,' several of whom are also members of the DU project). However, because of the collaborative nature of the work and the various storylines of the individual writers and artists, internal conflict between storylines is oftentimes commonplace. In many ways this is reflected by the fact that history is never entirely clear on what "exactly" happened during certain periods in the DU. Press reports are frequently disparate and disjointed. Historical records of the period are spotty at best. At times, this can produce confusion (but since when has Marvel or DC been better at avoiding that? It's sort of part of the hodgepodge of superhero storylines), but listed here will be the core information of the DU. World Information The Deviant Universe (DU for short) is set in a 21st Century Earth. The continents of Eurasia, Africa, South and North America, Antarctica and Australia are all, relatively, intact and show little major alterations in term of topology. As with several other superhero universes, the main distinction between the Deviant Universe and the real world is the presence of "Deviants," a derogatory term that was coined by humanity in the wake of the devastation following Omega's Rise. Deviants collective refers to those individuals who possess some power via mutation, magic, technology, super-science, martial arts, alien or extra-dimensional physiology, time travel or any of a host of other possibilities that places them significantly above the norm. It more specifically is used to refer to those individuals who both qualify and who act out in a quasi-legal fashion in society, either as vigilante heroes or in a more self-serving and sometimes villainous way. Deviants, as they have come to be known, have had a presence within the DU for thousands of years. It is speculated that some of the figures of particular note have been present within the world since the dawn of time. However, within the span of the years following the Vietnam War, Deviant activity has seen a significant spike in the DU and the number has been on the rise to a significant degree. It is speculated that, by the time of Omega's resurfacing into the present reality, approximately 1 in 10,000 people displayed some level of traits that would qualify as enough for Deviant status. In the postlude of Omega's Rise, however, this number has taken a significant and drastic downturn, and only about 10% of the Deviant population is still active on a global scale. The number is quickly rising again as Deviants return, but they are still considerably less prevalent in the current era. The Geo-Political State of the Deviant Universe is in the midst of a significant global flux after the conclusion of the events of Omega Rising. With the collapse of Omega's attempt at global domination, a plot was hatched that caused a massive wave of time and space manipulation to wash over the entire DU, shunting all metahumanity from the planet via teleportation. Many of these heroes and villains were lost in time and space, but began to return in the subsequent months to find that the world was in the process of attempting to rebuild without them. It has been only three months as of the Fall of 2013 DU time since the fall of Omega, and at the present time the governments of the world have been attempting to re-assert themselves. However, due to the massive global devastation, growing sentiments have moved towards seeking to form a more unified international form of government. To some extent, commonly expected national identities still exist, but the United Nations has been growing in terms of its authority in an effort to address the international concerns of its former member states, giving rise to the potential of a global authority of some sort. However, at the present time, all efforts are still in formative stages. The DU has developed more or less similarly to the world of the present reality with a few noteworthy and small differences up until approximately the year 2000. In the subsequent decade after the new millennium, the activity of Deviant populations began to spike, and with the first encounters of the planet with extra-terrestrial lifeforms on a large scale in the Summer of 2011, events moved at a dangerous pace towards several global conflagrations. Prior to 2000, though metahumanity was something that the populace was aware of since the time of the Vietnam War, only small pockets of activity were generally seen. Self-styled Super-Villains prepared largely in secret bunkers and bases of operations to pave the way for their eventual conquests. Heroes worked mostly in the shadows to protect the citizenry rather than significantly impacting the framework of their partner nations. Events, however, grew increasingly visible in the years after 2000, and at this point the divergences from the commonly known history of the "Real World" began. During the first 10 years of the new millennium, the Shadow Society began making its move in an attempt to initiate some of the early schemes at global domination. More subtle than subsequent villains, their plans were ultimately foiled as much by the arrival of Psi-Void in 2011 as they were by the efforts of the many heroes who worked to stop their plans. The years of 2010-2013 were tumultuous and filled with major conflict. Humanity, in the last forty years, had begun to develop something of a mixed reception of the various costumed (and sometimes not costumed) heroes of the DU. Some viewed them as saviors, while others pointed fingers and declared that the problems that plagued humanity in the turn of the millennium seemed as much their fault as they did the villains who attacked. Psi-Void's attempted invasion of earth, however, forced the majority of humanity to at least temporarily acknowledge that a large number of metahumanity was at least trying to help. With the formation of the "Thunder Force," it was hoped that peace would be finally found and agents of justice rendered to strike back against super-powered villainy. However, increasingly the efforts of humanity to maintain control over the super-powered saviors and their oftentimes disparate ideals grew swiftly towards a cataclysmic set of climaxes in the rise of the Dark Legion, the Freedom War and the wake of the Shadow Society's last major gambit which released the godling Omega from his ancient prison. The World's population has taken a pounding in the wake of these events. Estimations of the global losses of life are impossible at the conclusion of Omega Rising to be certain of, but it is safe to say that the amount of harm was sufficient to make this short period one of only two times (the other being the Black Plague) in which the global population actually dropped by a significant percentage rather than grew. Countless monuments of human creation have been lost and many natural wonders have been destroyed forever. However, as humanity limps forward and re-assesses its relationship with "Deviants," there is hope for some sort of brighter future. Cosmology Scholars have debated over the cosmology of the Deviant Universe for decades. Frequently, one of the difficulties of verification is that various individuals of supposedly divine birth will emerge from different polytheistic pantheons of note, or with information about these pantheons, but the information presented will not mesh perfectly. Stories of the ancient mythologies vary between different varieties of "demons" and "angels," with different conceptions of heaven and hell. One hero of the Norse pantheon might understand the history of Asgard differently from the Einherjar, or identically. One of the prevailing opinions among those scholars who have studied the cosmology of the various deviants is that the Deviant Universe is a connecting point to a multitude of realities and spiritual planes outside of the DU itself. Several of these share mythological elements and may even have interacted with each other, but these scholars believe that they are distinct. As a result, for example, the Einherjar's perspective on Valhalla might be completely different from another entity calling itself Loki. Their versions of these mythologies and spiritual entities who might interact with the DU are separate and distinct from each other. This results in a reality where gods and demigods may co-exist with the people of the world, and yet the people of the DU are as unsure of what "the Truth" actually is. Multiple versions of a 'Christian heaven and hell' might exist, with entirely different attitudes and backgrounds. The only other viable explanation is that the historical records of these spiritual planes are inconsistent at best, but this is generally found to be insufficient when dealing with such entities as Anarchy and Corvus, as they play key roles in their own spiritual realms' cosmology. In the end, however, it is difficult to speak with complete certainty on the cosmology of the Deviant Universe itself due to this collective disparity. History of Key Events (Pre-2010) With the disparity of various historical documentation concerning metahumanity, it becomes difficult to distinguish the history of so-called "Deviants" in humanity alongside the major events of human history. Some heroes, such as the Mighty American and Captain Victory, maintained very public lives and were visible figures throughout the 20th century, standing alongside key historical figures and helping to add their say into the annals of history. Others, however, took a second stage in comparison to their fellows. Many of these operated largely in secret until the 21st century, their powers little more than rumors. Several operated with government mandate, but did not make a great splash in the public eye as a rule until attention was drawn to metahumanity and Deviant activities. If one were to compare the events of the Deviant with those of "The Real World" prior to 2010, outside of the addition of a few names and costumed vigilantes, no significant difference would be visible. In many ways, humanity was accustomed to the presence of superheroes and supervillains in the background of society, but most of these things were the source of occasional news articles, exposes and random commentary about vigilantism's rise in prominence. Very little of these altered the course of national politics on a significant level, changed the need for laws concerning the presence of trans-human powers or demanded anything more than a passing glance from the average human. Children would walk around with a "Great Man" costume at Halloween or buy Mythic memorabilia from time to time, but merchandising, grandstanding or broad-based world-encompassing initiatives were simply not deemed necessary. Some organizations, such as RAPTOR in its earliest periods, were convinced that the presence of what would come to be called Deviants was considerably more widespread than most governments were led to believe, but their cries fell on deaf ears in favor of the status quo. Until the attempted assassination of a world leader in 2010, superheroes were simply 'kid's stuff' or the subject of academics wrangling about legal authority of non-licensed peacekeepers. It was all very quiet, at least until Psi-Void came. Then, everything changed in the blink of an eye. History of Key Events (2011-2013) April 2011 - The Shadow Society Strikes Agent 42X, famed agent of the HAVOC Unit, is captured and mind controlled by the Shadow Society in an effort to assassinate the current President of the United States. In one of the first semi-coordinated efforts by metahumanity, a cadre of various heroes teams up to take on Shadow Society agents and bring Agent 42X down before he can cause harm to the President. In the end, it is the hero known as Mythic who manages to bring him down. In the wake of this event, efforts are initially made by metahumans to band together. While some early ventures are successful, the United Nations and major world governments remain initially leery of any sort of massive project. It is recognized that there is a potential of a threat that might require the mobilization of multiple high-powered agents, but it is not yet thought that any sort of major offensive force will be needed to respond. Summer 2011 - The Invasion of Psi-Void The arrival of the first inter-galactic empire forces a sudden change in humanity's attitude towards the threats that are posed against it. Psi-Void, overlord of a massive star-faring culture, arrives aboard his mother ship, the Omega-7, with every intent to conquer the Earth and its surrounding solar systems. While not the first extra-terrestrial life humanity has encountered, already familiar with beings such as Captain Victory, the army of drones at Psi-Void's command are by far the most extensive extra-planetary military force the Earth has ever encountered. They are sufficiently technologically superior that there is almost no chance for 21st century military-grade weaponry to significantly harm them, much less the actual command ship, making metahumanity the only real threat to Psi-Void's assault. Psi-Void, already long familiar with the thought that elite troops, magically-active sorcerers, psychics, mutants and others with supernatural powers of some variety are his only true opposition, begins his assault by making an effort to capture what he deems the most dangerous examples of these individuals. Several devastating attacks fall within the wake of his attempts to capture the heroes and villains of Earth, but soon Psi-Void learns the true error of his attempt. Earth is more saturated with metahuman forces than most planets he has ever encountered, and they are already in the process of forming cohesive units against threats to what they love and motivated to protect their planet. Facing off against his lieutenants Glacier, Zaggot and Latika, the heroes release several captive races from within the command ship and manage to give the first two lieutenants a chance to realize that they do not need to remain bound to Psi-Void's will any longer. In the final conflagration, which wounds numerous heroes and causes the death of world-renowned hero Great Man, Zaggot and Glacier descend upon the already wounded Psi-Void and appear to finish him off before returning the heroes to earth and proclaiming peace while Latika flees in secret. Some heroes suspected that the psychic overlord is not quite dead, but are not able to fully realize that the creature's spirit has possessed Zaggo in his apparent moment of triumph, hunkering into the interstellar distance to knit his wounds and plot elaborate plans for revenge. Fall 2011 - The Formation of Thunder Force With the fall of Psi-Void's invasion, the United Nations caves to international pressure and invests considerable military funding into the creation of a global initiative for the protection of the planet from threats that transcend national boundaries and metahuman concerns. The initiative, titled the "Thunder Force," is first headed by reformed Agent 42X, and established with a Core Unit and Reservists who could both be counted on for serious issues that required specialized or increased man-power and also maintained as contacts in the case of metahumans with dangerous powers. The original roster of the Thunder Force included some of the most famous heroes of the era, in the wake of Great Man's death: Wildman, Agent 42X, Cross, Pixel, Vicky Velocity, Fisticuff, Wireless, and the Empty suit. The original roster of the Thunder Force Reservists included a collection of unique individuals, many of whom were not quite as famous but dangerous in their own rights: Jet, Nitrania, Gas Mask, Threadjacker, Proliferator, Dark Swift, Magiseeker, Psypher, Deadboy, TB, Einherjar and Flook. The first mission of the Thunder Force was to capture all rogue metahuman forces using the wake of Psi-Void's assault to cause havoc on the planet. Their efforts helped to breed the maximum security metahuman prison known as "The Fortress," situated on the solitary island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean to keep these elements away from the broader public. Spring 2012 - The Dark Legion Rises With the rise of light comes also the rise of the shadows that oppose it. As the Thunder Force began the arduous task of incarcerating superhuman villains, those who had not yet been captured began to band together in an effort to fight back. Led by an enigmatic creature known only as "The Host," they formed a loose cadre of nefarious figures called the Dark Legion. Initially, they were little more than rumor on the lips of conspiracy theorists. That all changed with the late Spring of 2012. The Dark Legion emerged into prominence by assaulting the newly minted Fortress and breaking numerous villains out from its ranks. In the wake of the attack, the Thunder Force was mobilized to deal with the building threat, but no sign of the enigmatic Host could be found in the aftermath. His offer of membership into the Dark Legion, however, was accepted by many audacious individuals seeking power for themselves. With the rise of the Dark Legion, an American initiative known as RAPTOR ramped up in terms of both popularity and man-power in tandem with the Thunder Force project to further assist in handling metahuman threats on a global scale. Initiated by Christina Rogers years before, it had waited in the wings for a time like this, when it could rise to aid humanity on a broader scale. The force, bearing a far more human-centric mindset, came into greater conflict with potential metahuman recruits early on, but generally had wide popular support. Summer 2012 - The Freedom War Time-sensitive heroes, notable among them the powerful telekinetic, telepath and trans-dimensional portal creator from the future Vigil, become aware of a dark future that looms for the Deviant Universe. Visions reach them of the potential for a world dominated by a global megalomaniacal force manned with forces empowered by one of the former members of the Thunder Force, Pixel, corrupted by some unknown power. Plagued by these visions, Vigil seeks out allies to try and prevent the event, unaware initially that events are already in motion. Supervisor Lloyd, head of RAPTOR, responds to an unfortunate incident involving Pixel. While facing off against villainous forces, it appears that the sentient computer program given life and form caves in to stress and pressure, losing control of his powers temporarily and creating countless duplicates of his original form that wreck havoc on the globe. RAPTOR steps forward and issues an ultimatum that is backed by several nations, furious about metahuman attacks even from supposed heroes and the events of the Dark Legion. He demands that the Thunder Force work in conjunction with RAPTOR to capture all of the rogue Pixel clones and aid all metahumans in registering their powers and identities as members of RAPTOR, so as to be able to safely train them and ensure that their talents are utilized effectively and in an orderly fashion. The ultimatum is met with mixed reception by metahumans everywhere. The core members of the Thunder Force remain loyal to the initiative, but Reservist Einherjar leads the initial proclamation against RAPTOR's actions, calling it a blatant power grab. These flee the forced registration and establish a rogue group known as "Freedom Force". While Thunder Force incarcerates rogue metahumans with the leadership of RAPTOR poster child Animal Boy and continues the hunt for the Pixel clones, the Freedom Force aides as many as it can in remaining hidden from the eyes of the world governments. Events reach a head when Vigil focuses her attempts to gather the members of the Freedom Force and draws them into a pocket dimension. There, they are warned that it is the belief of several time-savvy heroes that if RAPTOR is allowed to capture all the clones of Pixel, a dark future will loom. Convinced, the rogue metahumans assault RAPTOR's Astrocarrier. While former allies fight against each other on the deck of the flying carrier, Vigil is confronted by Supervisor Lloyd, who reveals himself to be the Host in disguise. The real Supervisor was apparently killed in the aftermath of the Fortress attack and this plan was one of the Dark Legion's master strokes to try and initiate global domination, foiled by the now combined heroes against him. As he prepares with his combined forces to strike back at the weakened but united heroes, Pixel escapes and unleashes a bolt of energy completely killing the Host and sending the villains into disarray, fleeing the scene. The hero hands himself over to the Thunder Force for incarceration, afraid of his change in mentality and not wanting to cause more harm like this again. The Freedom Force dissolves, and the Thunder Force temporarily disbands as RAPTOR and the world reel from the extent of the Dark Legion's manipulations. Fall 2012 - The Shadow Society's Return, Rise of Fetor The people of the world are apparently not quite willing to give up hope in the Thunder Force. In the months after the Dark Legion's defeat, the Thunder Force is re-established with the assistance of standing veterans Cross and Wildman. American heroes Miss July and the Mighty American join the force and bolster its connection to the last world superpower, while Tsunami joins on the behalf of the undersea Merpeople's kingdom as an envoy of her people. The HAVOC Unit continues to retain contact by including agent Arrow-Kill in place of Agent 42X, who is now working conjointly with RAPTOR. Animal Boy, meanwhile, comes to the Thunder Force from his time with RAPTOR and relative newcomer Thunderhead rounds out the force. Faith is quickly restored in the Thunder Force initiative with the second rise of the Shadow Society behind the scenes. Syndrome, agent of the Society, sends out drone units of a villain popularly known as "Fetor." The similarity of the drones to the Psi-Void attacks leads to widespread panic and villains and heroes alike wage war against their assault. The Thunder Force's assault takes down the primary unit and people begin to feel that once more peace is in the hands of the unit's new membership, though behind the scenes Syndrome sneers in triumph. His goal had been to use the units to study the weaknesses of his many enemies and build a weapon to control and debilitate them. Winter 2012 - Return of the Dark Legion With Fetor defeated, the Dark Legion and Shadow Society both appear to be on the ropes to the general public. Behind the scenes, however, the Legion is undergoing an internal power-struggle in an effort to rebuild its flagging power base. Villains vie for leadership and status in its ranks, seeking to replace the Host's prominent position in their number. Syndrome, meanwhile, seizes upon the opportunity that is afforded by this struggle for power. He uses the assistance of Nejil, a genetic clone of Vigil empowered with most of the same powers and built to hunt the futuristic warrior woman down, to create a series of portals and dupe the villains of the Legion into searching for an unknown entity that he intends to release from its dark prison in another dimension, supposedly one possessing limitless sources of "Dark Energy." The villains vie first for the disembodied voice's attention, seeking his leadership and ultimately abdicating to his authority in the hopes of a taste of the same dark energy promised. Eventually, they are sent out to search for the four keys to the prison of the entity. Using holograms with the aid of illusionist and charlatan Jester, he convinces many of the villains that he is the Host's spirit reborn of pure Dark Energy and gains enough loyalty to work to defeat the guardians of the keys, a plan that would not be seen through for many months. Spring 2013 - RAPTOR's Manhunts While the Legion begins to rebuild, RAPTOR grows increasingly concerned with metahuman activities on the planet. The agency, unconvinced with Thunder Force's efforts, sends Agent 42X to engage a series of villains and rogue heroes deemed to be threats throughout the Spring. Relations between metahumanity and RAPTOR rapidly cool as the pro-human forces make every effort to protect humanity from what is seen as a mounting threat. Unbeknownst to most, including Agent 42X himself, behind the scenes RAPTOR elites have captured Vigil and incarcerated her in an effort to keep her unique and dangerous powers in check. RAPTOR's efforts are not, however, a sign of a mounting plot for global domination. Now cleaning house of corruptive elements, an increasing paranoia is building within the organization in response to the movements of the remaining members of Freedom Force despite its disbanding and the Legion and Society's building activity. They can sense that something major is forming on the horizon and bridle at their inability to foresee what is going on and stop it. That the Thunder Force seems equally incapable of seeing the threat only further concerns then commander Christina Rogers as she searches for some solution to the looming threat, not wanting another incident such as in the past two years. Summer 2013 - Omega Rising As RAPTOR scrambles to mobilize heroes, it becomes aware of the Legion's effort to find four ancient pyramids in secluded regions of the world. It sends reservists and former allies to investigate, ordering them to observe but not engage the villains as they take on the guardians of the decrepit monoliths. When the metahumans prove successful in defeating all four guardians and retrieving the amulet keys from them, they are teleported back to Syndrome with the aid of Nejil's portals. There, he uses the data he acquired from Fetor to betray the collected Legion, disabling their powers with fine-tuned technological shackles and unleashed the power of the amulets to break the key to the dimensional prison and hell in which the entity he sought was locked away. The apparent master stroke by the Shadow Society disintegrated as the entity known as Omega emerged from his prison. A proto-deity from the stone ages of the Deviant Universe, he had been imprisoned within his own pocket dimension to protect the world and was infinitely beyond Syndrome's ability to control. When the Society agent demanded power, Omega retaliated by nearly killing him and turning to the assembled villains. He unbound them and offered each untold dark energy to empower them if they would but bend knee to him. Very few opposed the idea, and with the added power they took on the world in the name of global domination and destruction. The ensuing two months were a veritable hell on earth. Civilization and the governments of the world crumbled under the assault of Omega and his minions. The release of his prison destroyed the bases of operations of both RAPTOR and the Thunder Force. His agents laid waste to most of known civilization, crushing countless natural and man-made monuments, breaking down almost all of the world's nations and seemingly conquering it overnight as numerous heroes died mercilessly at their and Omega's hands. Omega himself established his throne in Australia and laughed in triumph as he saw the heroes of the world falling before him, insulted that there were no more apparent challenges in the world. Meanwhile, the Thunder Force and RAPTOR reeled from their respective attacks and went into hiding as other secondary organizations like the All Stars took significant hits to their number and power-bases. While RAPTOR mobilized its few remaining forces to seek out its one remaining trump card, the Thunder Force gathered what heroes from the world that they could and offered a last, desperate plan. Power-belts that could temporarily grant armored protection against the Dark Energy and a significant boost of power were given to those willing to take the fight to Omega's aides. Though not as potent as Omega's empowerment, it was hoped that in teams the heroes would prove a match for their opposition. The Thunder Force itself mobilized to Australia to take on Omega while teams were sent to North and South America, Antarctica, Africa, Asia and Europe respectively. The fight in each of the various continents was long, hard and vicious but each of the teams was managing to take down the threats one by one. However, despite the augmentation, the Thunder Force seemed doomed to fail despite severely wounding and weakening Omega. They could harm the godling, but he was too much their match at first. The tide in the final moments turned while the heroes took down their many enemies and Omega reeled, preparing to throw a master blow against his opponents. At RAPTOR's secret installation, a desperate Christina put into motion one last plan to save the world from the threat of such a powerful metahuman. Severely amplifying and forcibly controlling Vigil's powers, RAPTOR honed in on Omega's location and teleported him to another reality. Already weakened by the Thunder Force, Omega was captured by the wave and apparently gone for good. At that moment, however, the power went haywire and targeted all metahumans, teleporting them and losing them into time and space. For the next months, it seemed that the world was now free of metahumanity and mankind began to rebuild slowly from the catastrophe. Fall 2013 - The Aftermath of the Omega War Throughout the world, the months after August of 2013 saw the slow rebuilding of humanity. Metahumans began to re-emerge starting in September, but by then anti-meta sentiment was reaching an aggressive level. The term "Deviant" was coined for any para-legal individual with powers beyond normal human abilities, or even for otherwise normal humans who used technology and skill to live a life as a vigilante outside of society. Organizations such as ARES, the mercenaries of Nero Claudius Caesar Agustus Germanicus (brought back to life in the wake of the Omega War) and the Techno Mongers rose out of the ashes of human society with the dissolution of RAPTOR. Both bore extremely pro-human sentiments and sought to contain the "Deviant Threat." Most of the nations of the world rebuilt under their own respective aegis. However, while humanity worked hard to rebuild and achieve a semblance of its original glory, even great and powerful nations were struggling to maintain their cohesion. The ARES initiative and the UN did not initiate globalization efforts, but sentiments were already rising in many nations that leaned towards unification as Deviant populations began to rise once again. It was thought by most of humanity that the potential for yet another grand-scale conflict was too high and humanity required weaponry to defend itself against Deviants, weaponry not dependent upon their untold powers. And amongst the ashes, the Thunder Force began once more to re-assemble. Its members all had personal goals, but at the end of the day, could anyone truly resist the Call of Thunder? In the face of threats to people greater than themselves, they could not forsake humanity no matter how they might be despised. October 2013 - Dawn of the Tribals Led by the Berzerker, a Deviant criminal mastermind and gang leader, the so-called Tribals initiated a secretive strike on the major metropolitan areas of the world in the aftermath of the Omega War and the Deviants' collective return. While humanity was still rebuilding, spores of supernatural plants were released in the core of numerous major cities. Where they found fertile soil, they grew to gargantuan height and released more clouds of their spores, causing anyone who came into contact with them without some form of immunization or defense to change into monsters. Only through quick thinking on the part of various heroic organizations, working largely apart from each other, were the spore clouds dissipated and the afflicted humans turned back from their monstrous transformations. However, in the aftermath of the events, anti-Deviant sentiment began to swell and the Techno Monger and ARES movements built in the background. Calls grew for mobilization of defense forces, sometimes with an anti-Deviant sentiment. Ironically, however, these same mobilizations led to the inevitable conclusion on the part of the Thunder Force's current leadership. It was time for the team to expand. November/December 2013 - Expanding the Force The Mighty American, humbled by the struggle against Omega, and deeply concerned with the events of recent months, contacted Agent 42X and several other key allies in former fights to make a plea. It was time, the Thunder Force claimed, to expand its numbers. A call went out among fellow Deviants with a desire to draw any able and like-minded heroes to try-out at the Thunder Force's rebuilt facilities on the Easter seaboard of the United States. Tests would be presented in the form of trials using the state-of-the-art War Room facilities, creating approximations of real-world encounters in exploration, stealth, reconnaissance, rescue and threat assessment. A full 43 entrants arrived at the Thunder Force Headquarters and made their bids known. Each of them was dangerous, powerful and skilled in their own right, and their applications were given considerable and careful consideration. In the end, some 19 of them were called forward to help form and supplement the Thunder Force by establishing two new teams that would be located in other regions of the world. The 'core' team from the Omega War was revamped with an additional member and given the name "Alpha Team." Its assisting teams were named Beta and Gamma respectively. The goal of each team was to ensure that they were able to handle the maximum breadth of issues possible without becoming overly specialized, though each team's capabilities would necessarily prove different in some key fashions. The teams were as follows: Alpha Team: The Mighty American (Leader), Animal Boy, Arrow-Kill, Cross, Eris, Miss July, Thunderhead, Tsunami and Wildman Beta Team: Agent 42X (Leader), Bonestuck, Centauri, Claygirl, Crush, Larry, Loa, Oblivion and Professor Goyle Gamma Team: Marcia "Firebird" Tallington (Leader), Empty Suit, Ghost, Leo, Marcella, Mr Happy, Samantha Grey, and Tanook Key Organizations of the Deviant Universe For More Organizations: see Organizations of the Deviant Universe The Thunder Force Established originally by the United Nations as a joint initiative by the member nations of the Security Council and other member states, the Thunder Force was a group of heroes whose laudable goal was the protection of the Earth from threats of a magnitude beyond any individual hero or humanity's ability to respond. Prior to the Omega War, the Thunder Force bore two separate periods of membership. It's original founding members were Wildman, Agent 42X, Cross, Pixel, Vicky Velocity, Fisticuff, Wireless, and the Empty Suit. In the aftermath of the Freedom War, the Thunder Force was briefly disbanded as former leader Agent 42X shifted his focus to the RAPTOR initiative. The team, however, would not die, and was re-initiated by Wildman and Cross. Its membership in this second iteration was Wildman, Cross, The Mighty American, Miss July, Tsunami, Arrow-Kill, Animal Boy and Thunderhead. This team would be the force who would take on Omega at the culmination of the Omega War. In the wake of the "Deviant Threat," Thunder Force removed its allegiance to the United Nations and became a para-military vigilante organization in its own right. Its leadership separated into three distinct sub-organizations: Alpha, Beta and Gamma Teams. Alpha Team: The Mighty American (Leader), Animal Boy, Arrow-Kill, Cross, Eris, Miss July, Thunderhead, Tsunami and Wildman Beta Team: Agent 42X (Leader), Bonestuck, Centauri, Claygirl, Crush, Larry, Loa, Oblivion and Professor Goyle Gamma Team: Marcia "Firebird" Tallington (Leader), Empty Suit, Ghost, Leo, Marcella, Mr Happy, Samantha Grey, and Tanook RAPTOR Resistance Against People Terrorizing Our Human Race was a para-military organization of the United States of America, RAPTOR was formed by the Rogers family, spear-headed by Christina Rogers and its future nemesis Veladius. Prior to the rise of the Dark Legion, the organization was a small para-military force, but one that rose significantly in prominence as an alternative vision to the Thunder Force, building and swelling its ranks drastically during the rise of the Legion in order to catch problems before they became serious. Christina's son, Ben Rogers (Animal Boy) became temporarily the Director, working in conjunction with Supervisor Lloyd during the period prior to the Freedom War's culmination. The aim of the organization was to gather willing meta-human allies and human forces in a pro-human movement to take down metahuman threats before they could rise to the scale of the Dark Legion. Unlike the Thunder Force, which was generally reactive in nature to global threats, RAPTOR took a pro-active stance, seeking what it deemed to be problem elements in the world and capturing them before they could threaten the world more. In the wake of the Freedom War, both Animal Boy and Supervisor Lloyd (who was found unconscious and barely alive after the Host was revealed) stepped down from leadership and abdicated authority back to Animal Boy's mother Christina. Beleaguered already with the threats that continued to loom in the horizon, the organization attempted to rebound but found itself caught in the swell of the Omega War's prelude. RAPTOR, as an agency, took an increasingly paranoid stance towards uncontrolled metahumans and sent its agents out to eliminate possible threats with greater and greater zeal, their worries mounting as questions of ethics within the organization lingered due to the influence of the Host while he posed as Supervisor Lloyd during the Freedom War. The damage of the Dark Legion and other forces to the organization was something not easily surmounted, leading to increasing fears of ongoing corruption and possible insurgencies in the future. With the conclusion of the war, RAPTOR dissolved completely, agents associated with it seeking out new groups. Some of the associated groups who attached themselves during the Freedom War were rumored to be related to the ARES organization forming in the months after Omega's Fall, while the Rogers family itself established Task-Force Omega to carry on the original pro-human spirit of RAPTOR, hoping as well to avoid internal corruption in the ranks that would complicate or call into question their choices as a para-military force. The Dark Legion Brainchild of "The Host," The Dark Legion was a direct response to the incursions upon individual villain plots made by the newly minted Thunder Force. Comprised of a nearly countless number of like-minded villains, so many as to defy any attempt to actually chronicle their numbers, the Dark Legion struck several times at organizations such as RAPTOR and Thunder Force, undermining their efforts to maintain group cohesion and defaming them through various plots. Noteworthy among these actions were the breakouts at the Fortress and the attempted infiltration of RAPTOR by replacing Supervisor Lloyd with the Host himself. In the aftermath of the Freedom War, the Dark Legion became compromised by the intervention of the Shadow Society. The older organization, notable among their ranks Syndrome, re-acted to the upstart organization by treating them as a resource in an attempt to draw considerable power through the ancient entity Omega. The plan backfired on both organizations, Omega escaping and nearly killing Syndrome before granting the villains present power on the condition of serving him instead. In the aftermath of the Omega War, it remained difficult to tell if the Dark Legion remained intact as a force, as many of its number were disparate and separated by considerable distance, brought back from being lost in time and space at different times. With the slow reformation of the Thunder Force, it became a question if the dark twin would rise again, particularly with the apparent death of the Host. ARES Some time after RAPTOR was formed by Christina Rogers, her friend and ally, Veladius Redd, developed a worldview that earth was an organism and humans were its cells. He believed that in order to have a functional planet, there needed to be balance between the forces of good and evil. Veladius believed that RAPTOR, if left unchecked, could throw the world out of balance and into madness. In response, Veladius created ARES. ARES stayed under the radar for many years, plotting attacks on RAPTOR and taking out small forces. In the wake of the Omega War and the dissolution of RAPTOR, the ARES initiative was established as a response to the mounting Deviant threat. A para-military organization in nature, it was known for an aggressive and pro-human stances. However, in the immediate wake of the Omega War, its true intentions, leadership and goals were largely unknown to any. (Information still being developed as of October 1, 2013) Owner Credits The Deviant Universe, Dark Legion, Thunder Force, Agent 42X, Arrow-Kill, Syndrome, Psi-Void, Glacier, Zaggot, Latika, Captain Victory, Shadow Society, HAVOC Unit, Supervisor Lloyd and all related characters © mja42x on Deviantart Omega, Wildman and all associated properties © Xdante619 on Deviantart Animal Boy, the Rodgers Family, Veladius, ARES, Task-Force Omega, RAPTOR and all associated properties © 127thlegion on Deviantart Nejil, Marcia Tallington and all associated properties © Branded Curse on Deviantart Vigil, Centauri and all associated properties © Kostmeyer on Deviantart The Mighty American, Claygirl, Vicky Velocity, Great Man and all associated properties © Bogmonster on dA Tsunami, The All-Stars, The Berzerker, The Tribals, The Einherjar and all associated properties © Clockwerksoul on Deviantart Cross and all associated properties © Project-Shadowblaze on Deviantart Miss July and all associated properties © Kaufee on Deviantart Thunderhead and all associated properties © Gaston25 on Deviantart Pixel and all associated properties © Trustpixel on Deviantart Fisticuff and all associated properties © Jebriodo on Deviantart Wireless and all associated properties © Macattackproductions on Deviantart Empty Suit and all associated properties © Gpapanto on Deviantart The Host and all associated properties © Sprojler on Deviantart Mythic and all associated properties © Legacyherocomics on Deviantart Jet and all associated properties © Pro-Master-Gamer on Deviantart Nitrania and all associated properties © d3kab1u3 on Deviantart Gas Mask and all associated properties © Kernaalitanuli on Deviantart Samantha Grey, Threadjacker and all associated properties © Latroma on Deviantart Marcella, Proliferator and all associated properties © Backerman on Deviantart Dark Swift and all associated properties © N-I-V-E-K on Deviantart Magiseeker and all associated properties © Darknessofmemory on Deviantart Psypher and all associated properties © Booshybeth on Deviantart Deadboy and all associated properties © Spin5544 on Deviantart TB and all associated properties © TBPow on Deviantart Flook and all associated properties © Gregatron on Deviantart Revo Guardianz and all associated properties © Veekaizhanez on Deviantart Eris and all associated properties © Lulzyrobot on Deviantart Professor Goyle and all associated properties © Tmaneea on Deviantart Bonestuck and all associated properties © Da-Davinx on Deviantart Loa and all associated properties © Tortox on Deviantart Larry and all associated properties © Comicmakerjoe on Deviantart Crush and all associated properties © Originalunoriginal on Deviantart Oblivion and all associated properties © Alecyl on Deviantart Ghost and all associated properties © Javipascual213 on Deviantart Mr Happy and all associated properties © Bracey100 on Deviantart Tanook and all associated properties © DonDevious on Deviantart Leo and all associated properties © DarkDancing-Blades on Deviantart